All About Books discussion

I've noticed in my circle of friends (apart from real life book club I belong to) that we mainly talk about movies and other art forms, but books, not so much. It got me wondering so I thought I'd ask the question - how many people do you know who are readers? And by reader I mean someone who more often than not is reading a book of some kind (not necessarily classics etc.)

No one really close to me is a reader like me always reading a book . My husband reads newspapers , scientific articles etc as he is a retired chemist and an occasional non-fiction book . My sisters and my good friends are not readers . That is why I love Goodreads so much! It id wonderful to be able to discuss books with people here and to share my views in the reviews that I write .
I am grateful for the friends I have made here .

I'd say roughly half of my friends & family are bookworms. Both of my parents are & I often discuss books, plays, and poetry with them and trade books back and forth. I have a couple of rl friends with whom I talk books but more in terms of swapping recommendations than discussing the books themselves.

Only my husband and I, and of course my friends on GR. No one else.

My whole family does to varying degrees and one, my youngest daughter, writes and creates.

OK, my son reads too. That is true. My daughter used to read tons, but now she is too busy.

My older sister reads a fair bit. My mum always has some type of historial fiction book on the go but she takes a bit longer to get through them. Most of my other friends occasionally have a book on the go and often come to me for recommendations. But no one reads as avidly as I. That's why I find this group so great! You all read as much if not far more than I do! haha. I also find that because I take my books along to work to read in my breaks that usually gets my colleagues talking to me about the stuff they're reading.

My mum grabs the occasional romance book, my brother pretty much only read The Godfather. My grandfather reads a lot of history related books. But I'm the odd one in the family, once I put one book down I directly pick up the next one.

In my family, myself,my mother, sister, and sil always have a book in hand. I'm trying to get my nieces and nephews to read, but since they don't live close to me it's hard.
I have 5 co-workers who are avid readers and are in MIRL book clubs, and 3 others who read occasionally.

I am always talking about books I read, even to non-reading friends and co-workers hoping that something will inspire them to pick up a book.

In my life, nobody reads, though I have leant the occasional book to my Mum and my ex over the past few years. Actually my daughter is an avid reader as well, though my son has never liked to read since about the age of 8. They're very different in this respect, though they were treated just the same with lots of books and reading as younger children.

I seem to be at one end of this spectrum, as I'd say all my friends read, and my close family too. Some have more specific tastes than others.

My problem is that try as I might nobody seems interested in joining Goodreads! I suppose I was a bit like that at first - why would I want to spend time on a book group site when I could be actually reading ...

My two brothers read, and my dad always read, but my mum and sister don't read much. My husband reads (he is a teacher and wishes he had more time to read for pleasure) but sadly our two daughters don't seem to have inherited the reading gene! Apart from my real life book club, I have three friends who are keen readers, but the rest don't bother much.

Jean, I know what you mean! I think some of my friends think I am a bit weird to be on goodreads!

Yes, if they are keen readers you know there's something they'd probably enjoy about it - seems such a shame!

I grew up with parents that were big readers & always shared book reviews & recommendations with them.

My brother who grew up in the same house with all the same books about now picks up a book once a year on holiday!

I am lucky to have a couple of friends who are as passionate as me about books & we love nothing more than meeting up for dinner & chatting about some new book finds.

My mom was quite a strong reader, and I miss talking books with her - and she used to buy a lot of new releases, in italian of course that now I'm not so keen in spending money on!!!
Also my aunt - the remainig one living in Perugia used to read a lot, but now she has problems with her eyes. For this last Christams I gave her a Kobo, but I don't know if she's got used to it.
My husband is quite a good reader, but a part from "summer mysteries" we read different sort of books - he likes history a lot.
So this is the place I mostly discuss books in, even if where I now works there are several people who likes reading, on also a book club. I may joyin in!!!

I come from a family of readers so we pretty much all read. But we don't read the same books so rarely discuss them with each other.

I am the main reader. My husband has reading phases where he will really enjoy reading for a few months, but then will stop. My two year old loves books, I'm hoping that will continue.
My families reading habits, mom, dad & brother are the same as my husbands.

My mam, nana and sister-in-law nearly always have a book on the go and we recommend each other books and talk about what we've read. They don't read as much as me though, and don't read as varied as I do either. My brothers and dad don't read.

My boyfriend doesn't read but he'd like to! He's tried reading a few books but if they don't interest him as soon as he starts reading then he'll not go back to it.

I used to work with someone who I'd talk about books with but none of my friends are big readers.

I read a lot. I am in the army I have met a lot of readers. It's a nice topic of discussion when it comes up. My mom suggested I read one day cause I was complaining of boredom and I was hooked. I have been an avid reader ever since its my main coping mechanism for life. My sister is not. My mother and I have different taste on books which I think is sad. My husband reads, he has a wide range of interest which helps. Sometimes we read books together, but I am a faster reader.

My kids are readers too. It's a requirement at home at least one hour a day. And I have them read book that I liked as a kid and we discuss them. My oldest is reading Harry potter and I am rereading it with her. She loves it

Reina wrote: "I read a lot. I am in the army I have met a lot of readers. It's a nice topic of discussion when it comes up. My mom suggested I read one day cause I was complaining of boredom and I was hooked. I ..."

During WW2, the US Army had books printed & issued to soldiers & in fact was one of the moving forces behind the development of paperbacks. It is nice to hear that reading is still common with soldiers :)

Reina wrote: "I read a lot. I am in the army I have met a lot of readers. It's a nice topic of discussion when it comes up. My mom suggested I read one day cause I was complaining of boredom and I was hooked. I ..."


@Reina

I know that our troops read a lot. Three times I have already been able to contribute books to be shipped to soldiers in the field. I enjoy doing that because I feel that is the least I can do. Can you recommend any organizations?

I don't think I know anyone who reads voraciously. My dad and brother read a reasonable amount but not 'a lot' and I don't have any friends or workmates that read much.

Reina wrote: "My kids are readers too. It's a requirement at home at least one hour a day. And I have them read book that I liked as a kid and we discuss them. My oldest is reading Harry potter and I am rereadin..."

My son didn't want to wait for the translation in Italian to come out, so I bought the English book and I read it aloud for him doing a simultaneous translation!!! Hard but fun.
As kids and preadolescents bith my kids used to read a lot, I'm sorry to say not any longer. I hope they'll pick it up againg when older

Reina wrote: "I read a lot. I am in the army I have met a lot of readers. It's a nice topic of discussion when it comes up. My mom suggested I read one day cause I was complaining of boredom and I was hooked. I ..."

Thank you for your service Reina.

My grandma reads a ton, but she's mostly into mysteries. Dad likes science fiction, mystery, and history. It's difficult for me to convince them to read books that I have enjoyed, and even if they agree that they sound interesting, it might be years until they finally say they will read it. (Case in point - I left my copy of The Kite Runner with my dad several months ago, and now that he's finally gotten through his own stack of books to read, neither of us can find it, so he'll probably never get to it.)

Other than them, none of my close friends or family read much, which I find a bit depressing. I'd love to be able to gab about books to people I know and who are my age, but I've yet to meet those people outside of a college English class.

Angela wrote: "My grandma reads a ton, but she's mostly into mysteries. Dad likes science fiction, mystery, and history. It's difficult for me to convince them to read books that I have enjoyed, and even if they ..."

That is what makes sites like GoodReads so important! Now you can gab to us :)

I fall on the side of the spectrum with Pink and some others. Most of my blood relatives don't read at all or very little. My sister reads mysteries occasionally, but she tends to like the opposite sorts of books, even in the mystery category.

My partner Ron loves books though - he's been in a bit of a dry spell reading lately, but he read voraciously for many years. We have a lot of overlap in what we like.

I have a couple friends that read a lot too, much more than me even, and there's lots of overlap in interest there too. Many of my favorite books were originally gifts from friends.

In general though, most of my friends aren't big readers. I think that's one of the reasons I love Goodreads groups. It's fun to talk about books with others who love them!

My sister has started to read, she would one book in a while but I still think it's good. My friends are readers too but they are no where near as bad as me. Although I do have one friend who would read quite a lot when she has arthritis flare ups and can't move very well.

I thimk I'm the biggest reader I know at the moment. My mom is the next biggest. She was recently allowed to start reading again after having cataracts removed from both eyes. She's reading everything she can get her hands on at the moment!
My hubby used to read a ton, but has dropped off in the last year. He still insists on buying every new release his favourite authors publish. I think he has almost a dozen hardcovers waiting to be read, if not more.
My close friend used to be a big reader too, but She too has slowed way down.
Its hard to discuss books with anyone in person right now.

Kim wrote: "I thimk I'm the biggest reader I know at the moment. My mom is the next biggest. She was recently allowed to start reading again after having cataracts removed from both eyes. She's reading everyth..."

I know what you mean, Kim - I read more than most people I know, but just a fraction of what people read in this group! If you want to discuss a book, you may well find someone has read it in this group!

I'm the only one to read in my family. Among my 9 cousins, again, only I read. There are more musicians in my immediate family than readers.

Chrissie wrote: "Only my husband and I, and of course my friends on GR. No one else."

Same here! I don't know anyone who reads books; mainly people talk about films (which I haven't seen) and that's it.

I am the biggest reader in my circle of friends and family. I come from a family of non-readers, but my hubby reads (that was one of my sina qua non for romantic relationships), although we often differ in the genres we favour. I am proud to say that my children are readers too.
Sadly most of my friends are non-readers. The reason I like GR so much is because I have discovered books and authors by browsing other GR members lists and reviews. I can compare notes and discuss books in groups with people that GET and share my favourite hobby.

Kiwi wrote: "I am the biggest reader in my circle of friends and family. I come from a family of non-readers, but my hubby reads (that was one of my sina qua non for romantic relationships), although we often d..."

We are on the same "wave lenght" as we say in Italian! My family of oprigin - both father and mother - were strong readers, and my husband reads a lot, not as much as I do, but quite. My children used to read much; the prefere manga at the moment, but I trust that, sooner or later, they'll get back to the old book!!!

Laura, my older one has slowed down a lot in her reading "for pleasure". She is currently sitting her exams so I can't complain too much if she studies hard and prefers other activities (e.g. music / drawing) to relax.
As you say, I believe that I have infected them with the reading bug when they were little and I trust that they will turn back to books in their own time.

Kiwi wrote: "I believe that I have infected them with the reading bug when they were little and I trust that they will turn back to books in their own time. "

I'm sure your children will take up reading again — it's one of those habits which, once instilled in childhood, people never lose.

Growing up my mom read all the time, though mostly historical romances. My dad read too but was busier and so read less often. That's been increasing as he approaches retirement and getting a kindle seems to have helped my mom branch out into other genres. They both studied Russian lit in university, so lots of those on the shelves growing up. I was the only voracious reader, though both my brothers started reading more in their early twenties. My sister has learning disabilities so she reads slowly and not too often.

In Korea I had a lot of friends who read and there were several book clubs in my neighbourhood. Here in Colorado I don't know any readers and the book club I joined has been on its last legs the entire time. My husband reads a lot of manga and comics and fantasy, though he seems to be in a bit of a slump right now.

So far Kait mostly enjoys chewing on her books. We read to her a lot and buy her books as we find titles we like in secondhand stores.

My mom read to me and my two brothers growing up. As youngest, I got less time and attention. So much for being the "spoiled baby" of the family.

But I discovered that everybody in my nuclear family are/were readers. And now my nephew is fast becoming a reader, too :)

My husband reads some, especially more lately as he seems to be taking a cue from me finally.

I have various other local friends that read. Mostly only read certain genres or a best-seller here or there.

That's why I love goodreads so I can connect with others who like to read a lot and broadly.

I am the only book reader in my house. My teenage daughter bought The Fault in Our Stars, but I don't think she got past the first chapter. There are other readers in my family but even with my wide range of likes we don't read much of the same stuff. I have one cousin that will stop reading something if it gets popular too fast, so I cant talk with her about hunger games or divergent. She is 10 years younger than me so I don't know if I'd really want to talk about new adult books with her. Other than that I cannot find anyone to talk with books about. Everyone else is "too busy" to read.

My wife and I are voracious readers, but I cannot get my grandson to even read the back of a cereal box.

I started reading books about 7-8 years ago, but I only liked YA/Fantasy. I have since disowned YA books, and I have wholeheartedly taken up the classics for two years.

My brother shares my literary interests, but he is far too busy. Other than that, I really don't know any other readers (after all, I do live in WV ;D)

Nothing wrong with YA or fantasy Benjamin, except the number of poorly written books that become popular (which happens in all genres!). I am also a fan of classics, particularly Victorian literature.

Maybe audiobooks might be a way your brother could read more despite being busy? I have found that once I got used to listening, it has made a big difference in the amount of books I read!

Victorian is my favorite as well, along with French and Russian literature of the same period.

I love fantasy, and I probably wouldn't mind YA, but the only ones I read were of the same category that you mentioned: overrated and underwritten. Do you have any recommendations?

Benjamin wrote: "Victorian is my favorite as well, along with French and Russian literature of the same period.

I love fantasy, and I probably wouldn't mind YA, but the only ones I read were of the same category t..."

Mine as well

I'd say the classics have the advantage surviving the winnowing of time. For every classic book I'd think there were quite a few books that were poorly written etc.

Benjamin wrote: "I love fantasy, and I probably wouldn't mind YA, but the only ones I read were of the same category that you mentioned: overrated and underwritten. Do you have any recommendations? ..."

I would consider The Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula K. Le Guin YA & fantasy -- have you read that? Lots of people liked Code Name Verity which is historical fiction about WW2.

And then there are the classics (which weren't called YA at the time but fit the classification) such as Treasure Island, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer or Anne of Green Gables (which might not appeal to males as much as it does to females).

Tom wrote: "I'd say the classics have the advantage surviving the winnowing of time. For every classic book I'd think there were quite a few books that were poorly written etc."

I think you are right. But I am happy to take advantage of that winnowing!

Yes, I read The Wizard of Earthsea years ago, and I found it enjoyable and very original.
I also love history, especially WWII, so I will definitely look into Code Name Verity. Thanks!

I love fantasy, and I probably wouldn't mind YA, but the only ones I read were of th..."

Seven or eight years ago, so did you ever read James Patterson's Witch & Wizard series or the The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride series)?? I thought they were both pretty good. Also the Maximum Ride series can be found as books or graphic novels.
I think Dean Koontz might be an author you could consider. Though his stuff can be kind of twisted almost horror like. Most of his stuff I have actually done as audio books.